Friendship and Trust

Korean social life tends to revolve around close family and friends or work-place colleagues according to the 2009 Korean Social Trends report from Statistics Korea that compared Koreans to the results of a survey by the World Value Survery Asociation.

The report said for an average Korean, 58.4 percent of social interaction outside the family in 2009 was with a small group of friends and acquaintances. Around 20 percent was with a group that belongs to the same religion, while 6.2 percent and 0.3 percent were made with nonprofit organizations or political groups, respectively.

The same report revealed that only 28.2 percent of Koreans trust other people, compared with 39.3 percent of Americans, 58.9 percent of Finns and 68 percent of Swedes, for example.

Within Korea, people tend to socialise primarily with people they have known for a long time, such as family and alumni groups (lifelong friendships often begin in middle school).

The same report also showed that Koreans feel less stable, have less fun and think they contribute less to society in their job. It said Koreans are less likely think that their job presents them with chances to earn a substantial income, get promoted, or to acquire new skills.

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